Pages

Awesome Readers!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Meet the owner of Mia & Mika, Yasmin Emilia a 28-year-old who is based in Dublin, Ireland. Mia & Mika is an online shop aimed at "bring(ing) you high street brands at affordable prices so you will never have to pay retail ever again". Sound enticing? Well since the owner of this shop is based in Dublin so brace yourself for loads and loads of brand names, some established in Malaysia and some that you have not heard of. From handbags, to kids and women apparels you people are certainly spoilt for choice!

Let's get close and personal with this week's Amazing Blog Friday entry.

The owner is Yasmin Emilia, 28 years old, currently located at Dublin, Ireland. Since I am abroad, my sister, Sara Lydia, is handling the business from KL. All items that are posted on Mia & Mika are all readily available in KL therefore buyer do not have to bear any international shipping costs!

Mika oh so darn cute!

2. When did you start your online shop

The website was given birth in the middle of August, just within weeks before I officially turned 28! :) So we are still relatively new in the whole online business thingy.By the way, my online store is named after my first son - Mika. And in the future if I were to have a daughter, I would love to name her Mia :) Hence, Mia & Mika!

3. What actually inspire you to start your business?The idea sort of came up to me during my 6.5 months (paid too!) long and blissful maternity leave. I was certain that I will be having trouble getting into the routine of going back to work after such a long time off. So i started toying around with the idea (since I love to shop anyway!) and did some research through internet and the rest is history!

4. Is Mia & Mika a full time commitment or are you only doing this part time?

At the moment, I am still maintaining my 9-5 job therefore Mia & Mika only serves as a side income for me. There might be a possibility of me concentrating solely on my online business in few years time but that is highly dependable on many other factors.

5. Which one do you think is your best product?

Well.. I would love to say ALL!! :) The clothes, handbags and scarves are all gorgeous! But if I were to based on sales/demand, handbags seems to be the most popular ones. They go off rather quickly!

This bag is an example of bag that is already sold out @ Mia & Mika!

6. Do you have a physical shop ?

No and given the current economic climate, I don't think we will be exploring this option anytime soon. Plus, I still highly appreciate the fact that we dont have to bare the overhead costs associated in maintaing a physical shop.

7. How do you promote your business?

Generally we are still trying to build a good and solid business networking. Knowing the right people in the right area definitely helps you to go further in any business you ventured into! I found Facebook to be a very good networking tool.

But among the first thing we did was sending a request to be enlisted in Emmagem's Shopping Directory list. The list is growing bigger by the day but I feel that its good to be included in anyway since the list serves as a centralised directory. Mia & Mika were actually lucky enough to be spotted among the hundreds of other e-shops and was actually featured in Emmagem last month! Read it here --> http://www.emmagem.com/2008/10/19/mofsd-items-of-the-day-2/Independent blog reviewer like yourself, A Shopaholics Den and many more has also become a good platform for us e-shop owners to promote our stores. Truly appreciate what you all are doing and do keep up the good work!

Cheery and colourful for the happy girls!

An offline sale event is also a good way of promoting - You need to be SEEN! So far we have only managed to join one event called 'Jumble Sale@Big Blue House' hosted by Euphorics (http://www.euphorics.com.my/). We are planning to actively participate in other bazaar/flea market event from middle of December onwards so stay tuned for any annoucements!Finally, I think having a good catch phrase will also help. Find something that is catchy and really sticks with you. Ours is --> Mia & Mika Online Store - GORGEOUSLY YOURS!

8. Which part of Malaysia or the world does your customers come from?So far most of them are from Klang Valley area.

9. What makes your online shop different than other shops?

Our range of our items includes clothes, handbags and scarves and the collection is divided into two collection: MIA - Women & Girls and MIKA - Boys.

Attack of the Octopus for boys!

I feel that Mia & Mika Online Store is still definitely one of its kind in Malaysia. I might be wrong here (and correct me if I am) but I haven't come across any online store that holds the same concept as ours yet. We are offering well known high street brands at a very reasonable price. Who doesn't love quality at a bargain price, right? And plus, some of the brands that we bring in aren't even available in Malaysia yet. So the chances of you bumping into someone wearing the same thing as you are is close to none! In fact, people might go and asked you.. "where did you get that from?"

10. Any tips or advice for new or budding women entrepreneurs out there?

I don't think I am in such a position to be giving advice yet since I am rather new! But within the very short period that I have been involved in, I think hardwork and dedication would be the key. And make sure passion is what is driving you too! Also, never ever under estimate yourself and always think outside the box and don't be afraid to be different.

I would like to personally express my utmost thanks to Yasmin for willing to answer my dreadfully long questions even though she is millions miles away in Dublin! Haha..And I wish you all the best for your business! And for that, I would like to present you with this!The Featured on Supermummy Amazing blog Friday award! You're most welcome to add this to your site.

By the way, today is the final day for the Gin & Jacqie bag entry! So if you are still trying to find ideas, it's your last chance to pour your creativity away! And to all who have submitted, thank you for the support! You guys are super duper lovely people! And to all who is coming for the Nuffnang Friso Family Day Out, see you tomorrow ya! I'll be coming with Husband and Husayn. Hope to see you there!

7
superstars:

Complete Money Making Website Setup is a fast growing business of the world now. People having good offline business are also venturing online in the look out for new customers but for that the first step is to get a great website ready http://www.infyecommercesolution.com/

Ecommerce and offshore software development are burgeoning trends these days and several India-based offshore software development companies have gained reputation for offering excellent services to the clientele throughout the world. However, it would be extremely advantageous for you to assign your software development project to one of the popular India-based company because services offered by Indian software companies are cost-effective and flexible that ensure future growth and transparency.http://www.eberrymedia.com

BB Luvs Me - all baby stuff!

Who?

Hey there! I'm Intan and I'm a self proclaimed supermummy though in reality I pretend to sleep when my kids start crying in the middle of the night. This is my blog and I write what I want and I might bore you to death with my rantings. But really, I am a nice person. Glad to have you here:)
If anything, I am always reachable at moodyschmoody@gmail.com